Assessing the major sources of uncertainty in supply chains: survey

Abstract

Reducing uncertainty in the supply chain (SC) is probably one of the major difficulties that the company must solve. Indeed, the SC is currently under enormous pressure and the decision-making process is frequently confronted with varied settings while making decisions due to the degree of uncertainty. The purpose of this study is to investigate the main major sources of uncertainty in SC. The study also examines the practices adopted to reduce uncertainty and enhance forecasting accuracy. A survey was carried out. Questionnaires were distributed amongst the managerial staff located in Morocco and other countries. We collected work e-mail addresses of managerial staff managerial working in SCs that operate in mass production and also in large-scale distribution and invited them to participate in an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire was designed to assess respondents' views about the main sources of uncertainty in SC and how they do to reduce it. Findings indicate that uncertainty occurs in any SC process, but the main uncertain prosses are procurement, supply planning, and demand forecasting. In addition, uncertainty comes from external and internal factors. Moreover, the decision-making mode, SC partnership, and risk contract have an important impact on the occurrence of uncertainty in the SC.